Social notworking – the dark side of social networking
Social networking sites pose significant workplace challenges, from reduced productivity to potential reputational damage and discrimination claims. Employers need clear social media policies to manage employee online behavior and protect their organizations.
Suspended sentence for NHS CV liar
An NHS senior HR manager received a suspended prison sentence for falsely claiming qualifications including a degree from Oxford Brookes University on her job application. Kerrie Devine was ordered to pay compensation and perform community service after her fraud was discovered during a reapplication process.
Snow business: The winter survival kit for your organisation
Extreme weather disrupts UK businesses and threatens productivity, but remote working tools and cloud computing can help organisations maintain operations during severe conditions. Implementing flexible work policies and technology solutions reduces weather-related downtime and keeps employees safe while ensuring business continuity.
Snow business: 14% not in work, costing economy £0.5bn per day
Severe winter weather has driven UK employee absences to record levels, with nearly 14% of the workforce absent on January 7, 2010, costing the economy an estimated £0.5 billion per day, according to FirstCare data.
HR tip: Company car during notice
When an employee is under notice, whether they retain company car use depends on the employment contract terms. If the vehicle is for business use only with no required trips during notice, you may withdraw it; however, if it includes private use, the employee should retain access during their notice period.
Talented graduates seek work in call centres
Call centres are attracting higher-calibre candidates post-recession, with 25% of contact centre agents now holding graduate degrees and 14% possessing postgraduate qualifications. The industry is seeing improved recruitment ease and staff retention, as more candidates view customer service roles as legitimate career paths rather than temporary positions.
HMRC launches new crusade against minimum wage violators
HMRC has launched a new Dynamic Response Team funded with £70 million to tackle high-profile minimum wage violations, with a focus on cases where employers undercut competitors by paying migrant workers below the legal minimum wage.
Ask the expert: vetting employees
Learn whether rechecking work authorization documents only for employees hired before 2007 violates discrimination laws. Expert legal advice explains the risk of direct and indirect discrimination claims and how to comply with right-to-work requirements.
Are your employees snowed under? Severe weather and its impact on business
Severe weather doesn’t have to disrupt business operations significantly. Employers can minimize impact through remote work options, flexible policies, and clear communication with staff, while maintaining health and safety standards during challenging conditions.
Are you moral enough to lead a culture of accountability?
Effective HR leadership requires building a culture of accountability with strategic systems that align employees with organizational goals, drive high performance, and attract top talent. HR departments must act as architects of integrated, performance-oriented environments that measure results and promote productivity across the organization.
We all need improvement plans
Everyone needs a personal improvement plan, not just struggling employees. Taking responsibility for your own performance and development should be standard practice across all levels of organizations, building trust and accountability.
Strategic workforce planning: taking centre stage
Strategic workforce planning is increasingly recognized as a critical human capital initiative that positions organizations for long-term success. According to recent research, 81% of organizations benefit from workforce planning, with leading organizations using it to execute business strategy through career paths, talent acquisition, and workforce flexibility rather than just managing downturns.
Social media as a business medium: It’s already here, are you ready?
Businesses must adapt to social media as a core communication tool, understanding its characteristics like accessibility and immediacy while updating policies to embrace rather than resist its impact.
What HR can learn from sales to optimise recruitment
HR departments can improve recruitment by adopting sales and marketing strategies, including building a strong employment brand, developing compelling value propositions, and understanding candidate sourcing channels. Recruitment requires sales skills to attract qualified candidates, not just administrative screening processes.
Gender Lens – How ‘what good looks like’ differs at work for men and women
Research reveals significant differences in workplace priorities between men and women. While 56% of women value workplace choice, 62% of men prefer simplicity. Other key differences emerge in preferences for diplomacy versus directness, ambition versus contentment, and practical versus conceptual training approaches.
The new world of outplacement
Outplacement services are evolving from high-cost executive support to affordable mass-market offerings, with tighter budgets limiting traditional one-to-one counseling. Technology-driven e-learning and automation are transforming job search support, making effective outplacement more accessible and scalable while reducing costs.
HR Tips 2009
A comprehensive collection of HR guidance covering employment issues throughout 2009, including topics on discipline, redundancy, discrimination, holidays, and workplace conduct with practical advice for employers and HR professionals.
Tips on keeping agency worker costs low
Manage temporary agency worker costs by analyzing spending data and working with a controlled panel of regulated agencies. Access to detailed management information on hours, rates, and expenses helps companies budget effectively and avoid inflated charges from unregulated suppliers.
Lessons from France Telecom – handling restructures
HR plays a vital role in managing workplace restructures by fostering open communication and supportive culture, as the France Telecom crisis demonstrated. When organizations fail to engage employees during major changes, disconnection and mental health crises can result. Effective restructuring requires clarity of purpose, alignment on shared goals, and leadership that prioritizes employee wellbeing alongside business objectives.
Making a Legacy: how HR can create something deeper and more lasting
HR departments can create deeper, more lasting employee engagement by focusing on “legacy”—what people create daily rather than what they leave behind. Legacy-driven approaches help organizations meet employees’ aspirations to make positive impact while building collaborative skills through real-world social enterprise models.
